West Virginia Institute for Spirituality — Charleston, United States

Ecumenical Ignatian retreat and training center in Charleston, West Virginia

The West Virginia Institute for Spirituality (WVIS) is an ecumenical retreat and training center at 1601 Virginia Street East in Charleston, West Virginia. It is known for Ignatian silent-directed retreats, the 30-day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the formation of spiritual directors. Its stated mission is to provide space and opportunities for deepening mindfulness, prayer practice, interior peace, and for integrating moral and ethical values. The institute's history begins with a request. The Most Reverend Joseph H. Hodges, Bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, asked the Religious Sisters of Our Lady of the Cenacle to develop a retreat house in downtown Charleston. Three sisters volunteered to staff the Cenacle Retreat House at 1114 Virginia Street East: Sister Dorothy O'Brien, Sister Anna Carulli and Sister Mary Pellicane, with Sister Carole Riley of the Sisters of Divine Providence as an adjunct member. For twenty-two years the Cenacle offered directed retreats, seminars, spiritual direction, contemplative prayer, youth retreats and 30-day retreats. In 1988 an ecumenical group formed WVIS to continue that ministry. The institute was incorporated as a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status on December 23, 1999, leased a property at 1414 Virginia Street East in 2000, and made the 1601 Virginia Street East property its permanent home in 2002. In 2001 Sister Carole Riley received the Mary Emil Penet Award from the national Religious Formation Conference for her work mentoring in spiritual formation. The retreats are the center of the work. WVIS offers 3-, 5- and 8-day Ignatian Silent-Directed Retreats on set dates through the year. Each retreatant meets daily with a spiritual director, and the day is built around silence, assigned scripture, exercise, rest and meals. A 3-day retreat called Praying the Hebrew Names of God is also listed. Those who have made at least one 8-day retreat can apply for the 30-day Spiritual Exercises, in which the retreatant prays four to five hours a day and meets a director for an hour. For people who cannot leave their work, the 19th Annotation Retreat in Daily Life stretches the Exercises over about nine to ten months, with a daily hour of prayer and weekly meetings with a director. WVIS also hosts sabbaticals for people in ministry or in life transitions, and a weeknight Contemplative Prayer session on Zoom, Monday through Friday from 7:00 to 7:20 Eastern. Retreatants stay either in the Retreat House, with a private room and shared bath, or in the Hermitage, a private suite on the property with its own bath and kitchen. Meals, linens, Wi-Fi and art supplies are provided. The grounds include gardens with a hand labyrinth and the chapel, Nazareth House of Prayer. The neighborhood is walkable, with the West Virginia State Capitol, an outdoor labyrinth and the Kanawha River nearby. The property is drug, alcohol and smoke free. Training is the other pillar. The Spiritual Direction Training Program is a part-time, four-semester course held on Zoom over three weekends each semester, plus two onsite weekends. It joins Adrian van Kaam's formative spirituality with the Spiritual Exercises and includes supervised practicum work. Graduates are certified to offer individual and group spiritual direction and 3- to 5-day Ignatian Silent-Directed Retreats. The next cohort begins in September 2028. Further certificates cover spiritual direction supervision, facilitating Ignatian directed retreats, and directing the 19th Annotation Retreat. WVIS has trained lay ministers and clergy from Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Unitarian and Baptist backgrounds. The place is meant for people of any denomination, from first-time silent retreatants to experienced directors seeking certification. Many come at a crossroads, such as a loss, a vocational question or a major decision, and one retreatant described arriving as a talker and leaving at peace.

Traditions: Ignatian Spirituality, Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, 19th Annotation Retreat in Daily Life, Silent Directed Retreat, Spiritual Direction, Contemplative Prayer, Formative Spirituality, Hermit Experience

Programs: Ignatian Silent-Directed Retreat, 30-Day Spiritual Exercises, 19th Annotation Retreat in Daily Life, Praying the Hebrew Names of God, Sabbatical at WVIS, Spiritual Direction Training Program, Certificate in Facilitating Ignatian Directed Retreats, 19th Annotation Retreat Advanced Certificate, Advanced Certificate in Spiritual Direction Supervision, Contemplative Prayer on Zoom

Amenities: Retreat House, Hermitage, Private Rooms, Meals Provided, Linens Provided, Art Supplies, Wi-Fi, Chapel, Gardens, Hand Labyrinth